Storm drain channels are ordinarily man-made for the purpose of channeling rain water to prevent flooding of urban areas. The drains, however, are one of the primary causes of pollutants entering into rivers and coastal ocean environments. In the City of Los Angeles, for example, storm water and urban runoff from streets are funneled down street gutters to catch-basins which are inlets to a fifteen-hundred mile maze of pipes, open channels, and outlets that carry the water to the ocean, bays, and coastal wetlands. The runoff is not treated before entering these areas and consequently pollutants are carried directly into the river and ocean environment with a deleterious affect not only on marine, sea and plant life, but also on the public enjoyment of the natural environment in these areas.
The emphasis to minimize the amount of pollutants entering into the drainage channels has been placed upon individuals and upon their activities in relationship to their business and homes. Conservation methods are recommended by governmental and environmental groups to keep water out of gutters, to not over water lawns or gardens, to purchase less toxic gardening and household products, and many other suggested ways of minimizing the entrance of pollutants into the storm drain system. These methods, however, do not address treatment of the runoff water after pollutants enter the system. It would therefore be advantageous to have a water purification system in the storm drain channels that would supplement prior individual purification efforts by removing pollutants that have nevertheless entered into the system despite the preventative environmental measures taken by individuals and communities. The system of this invention presents an ecologically compatible system for minimization of pollutants at a low cost with minimal maintenance and long term benefits to the environment.